Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has repeatedly vouched for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, assuring the world that his counterpart in Moscow is sincerely interested in peace. The evidence to the contrary has long been overwhelming, and in recent days, it’s become even more devastating.

On Friday night, Kyiv came under a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack, and the offensive — described by Ukrainian officials as the largest aerial assault on the country since the war began — continued throughout the weekend. The New York Times, quoting the Ukrainian Air Force, reported that over the past week, “Russia has directed at least 1,390 drones and 94 missiles at targets across Ukraine.”

The offensive came almost exactly a month after the American president published an item to his social media platform that read, “Vladimir, STOP!” It was a directive that Putin ignored. It also came just days after Trump had a two-hour phone meeting with Putin — a discussion the Republican described as “excellent” — that he boasted would “immediately” lead to new diplomatic negotiations.

With this in mind, Trump expressed a degree of predictable dissatisfaction with Russia’s latest offensive. The New York Times reported:

President Trump on Sunday condemned the decision by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to unleash one of the largest offensives in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and said he was considering imposing more sanctions on Russia in response. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey before boarding Air Force One, Mr. Trump said he was “not happy” with Mr. Putin escalating his attacks, especially as the two countries negotiate a cease-fire deal to bring the three-year war to an end.

In comments to reporters, the Republican said, “He’s killing a lot of people, and I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin. I’ve known him a long time. Always gotten along with him. But he’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all.”

Trump added that he was “surprised” by the renewed military offensive from Russian forces, which dovetailed with an online item in which the American president said Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY” and was targeting Ukrainian cities “for no reason whatsoever.”

Of course, in the same social media missive, Trump also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and suggested the Biden administration bore responsibility for Putin’s decision to launch an unprovoked invasion of his neighboring country.

All of which left the world with a familiar question: What exactly does Trump intend to do now?

The circumstances are hardly unfamiliar. In March, for example, NBC News reported that Trump was “very angry” and “pissed off” at Putin, though his administration failed to follow through with action. A month later, the American president let the world know he was “not happy” with his Russian counterpart, which again proved to be hollow rhetoric.

Four times in four months, Trump threatened to impose new economic sanctions on Russia. In each instance, the comments sparked a fresh round of headlines. But also in each instance, Putin ignored the threats, and the White House responded by doing nothing.

All of which brings the “watch what he does, not what he says” adage to mind.

To be sure, perhaps this time will be different. Perhaps Trump is getting tired of looking foolish. Perhaps the White House will, any minute now, announce new economic penalties on Moscow, new security aid for Ukraine, or both. Perhaps Putin pushed his luck once too many times, and it’s finally jolted the American president who has been far too eager to align his administration with the Kremlin.

But this would be a dramatic shift from Trump’s record and recent history.

As a New York Times analysis summarized over the Memorial Day weekend, the White House has effectively created “a strategic void in which Mr. Trump complains about Russia’s continued killing but so far has been unwilling to make Mr. Putin pay even a modest price.”

Much of the world has waited for Trump to adopt a stronger and more effective posture. Will he ever overcome his affection for the Russian leader and try following through on his rhetoric for a change? Watch this space.